Why Do We Hate Animals? – My Trip To The Zoo
A trip to the Zoo has never been a good experience for me. Many years back when I was still a child I went to the then-famous ‘Appu Ghar’ in Delhi, India. If I am not wrong then that was the first time I had ever visited a zoo. People were amazed to see all these animals, I was too, but I wasn’t happy to see any of them. Why? Because the animals were kept in cages, as in any zoo around the world.
As I was very young at that time, so my memory of the whole episode isn’t kind of incomplete. All I can remember is that I saw 2 huge tigers in the cage. I don’t know if they were actually that huge or if I found them huge as I was a small child. Not sure about that.
There was a small zoo at the Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore. I happened to visit that too. It was again a long time back and as of today, there is no zoo at that place. It was again a very bad experience for me. It was small and poorly kept.
And now, lastly, I have been to the Chhatbir Zoo, quite a number of times. I think about 5-6 times, and not even once the experience was happy enough. It is not that I hate animals, but it is because I don’t feel happy seeing them in cages.
Just a few days back I went to the zoo with one of my friends, as he insisted on visiting it, and made the following video. Due to covid-19 most of the zoo was closed – the lion safari, reptiles den, nocturnal birds section, etc – but the ‘cages’ and the other areas that were open, were painful to see.
Instantly a thought came to my mind, and it was, “Why do we hate animals?”
What wrong have these animals and birds done to us that we decided to put them in small cages for years… until they die!
If you watch the video (above) then you will clearly see that all the animals are living in a state of shock and spending their time in deep depression. Just ask yourself once, can you spend your life like this in a confined space without ever getting a chance to see what is beyond the walls of your room? Can you live a life in a space where there is not enough food for you or any freedom to do whatever you want to do or to see other people and make friends with them? The list is endless.
During my visit, I also observed other people too. Adults and children, both were enjoying themselves a lot. I can understand their excitement. It actually feels great to see all the wildlife that you have seen in movies or books, in person. But is it right to tease them or shout around them? They are already living a life of a prisoner just because they are beautiful and different from us all. And what is even more tragic is that they don’t even know why they have been brought here in the first place.
Well, I won’t say anything more. I encourage you to have a look at the video and see for yourself, and then ask yourself the same question that I asked myself – Why do we hate animals?
Where is Chattbir Zoo?
Chhatbir Zoo, is a zoological park situated close to Zirakpur and Chandigarh, India. The zoo was constructed in the 1970s and is home to a large variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
Chattbir Zoo Timings
Monday – Closed
Sunday and other days – 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
How to reach Chattbir Zoo
Chhatbir Zoo’s location is good enough to be reached by major spots of the city. Outstation tourists can easily reach the zoo by train. It stands 16 km from the city railway station. From here, tourists can hop into a car and reach the zoo within half an hour.
